US star swimmer Lochte suspended for 14 months

New York: US star swimmer Ryan Lochte has been banned for 14 months for receiving intravenous infusion, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has announced.

Two months ago, he posted a photo on social media of himself receiving an intravenous infusion. That caught the attention of the US Anti-Doping Agency, which launched an investigation.

Now, the six-time gold medalist has been suspended for 14 months. That clock started on May 24, the day he took the IV.

The suspension will last till July, 2019, which means the 12-time Olympic medalist will miss the upcoming US championship in California and world championships in 2019.

Lochte said that he was receiving vitamins, a permitted substance, to enhance his immune system as his wife and child were both ill, Xinhua news agency reported. But the amount he took was over 100 ml and he had no "therapeutic use" exemption for the infusion, which constituted a anti-doping violation, the USADA explained.

"A rule is a rule and I accept that there is a technical violation," Lochte said, acknowledging his misbehaviour.

Reacting to the news of suspension, Lochte doesn't know when he'll be in another race. And that worries him. What's next for Lochte is a mystery, even to himself. Essentially, the only opponent he'll be facing other than training partners as he preps for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is rust.